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Eamonn Byrne
(Director Bruce Betting),
Dary Gurney (2008 Champion)
and Emma
Lavelle (Marketing Manager
Bruce Betting).
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Daryl Gurney from County Antrim won the 2008
Bruce Betting Ireland Darts Players'
Championship on Sunday last, August 10th.,
when he defeated Dublin's Garrett Gray 6-3
in the final at the Springhill Court Hotel
in Kilkenny.
After seven rounds of competition played at
different venues around the country the Top
32 players on the Ireland Rankings List
stepped up to the oche last weekend hoping
to become the third winner of this
prestigious event.
The players were divided into eight groups
which were played off on a round robin basis
and the top two from each group went forward
to the knock-out stage of the competition.
At this stage two of the tournament
favourites, Shane O'Connor (Kildare) and
Connie Finnan (Limerick), made early exits
as did last year's champion, Paul Irving
from Kildare.
The line-up for the quarter-finals consisted
of four players each from Northern Ireland
and the Republic and on the form displayed
throughout the afternoon any of the last
eight players could have lifted the title.
In the first match on stage Daryl Gurney
defeated Jason Cullen 5-2 followed by Denis
McCarthy (Kilkenny) having a 5-3 victory
over Roy Bailie (Down).
Garrett Gray was much too strong for Michael
Blair (Down) with a 5-1 win in the 3rd.
match while the North's fourth contender,
Brian Cathcart, was taken all the way by
Sean Marshall (Kerry) before winning 5-4.
In the semi-finals Gurney defeated McCarthy
6-2 and Gray had a similar victory over
Cathcart before the Antrim player went on to
take the title and first prize of € 2,000
with a 6-3 win over Garrett Gray.
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Paul Hinks, Sharon
O'Brien (Ladies'
Champion), Emma Lavelle
(Bruce Betting), Denise
Cassidy (Runner-up),
Eamonn Byrne (Bruce
Betting) and Joe Coyne.
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The finals of the Ladies' and Youths'
Championships were also played on the same
day and in the Ladies' event Sharon O'Brien
from Kildare came out on top with a
convincing 4-2 victory over Northern
Ireland's No. 1 player, Denise Cassidy
(Fermanagh).
The beaten semi-finalists were Joan Flynn
(Kilkenny) and Maeve O'Connor (Carlow).
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Paul Hinks, Mark
Finneran (Youths'
Runner-up), Eamonn
Byrne (Bruce
Betting), David
Concannon (Youths'
Champion), Emma
Lavelle (Bruce
Betting) and Joe
Coyne.
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There was an all-Roscommon
finale to the Youths' Championship with
David Concannon defeating his team-mate Mark
Finneran 3-1 in the final.
Finneran had defeated last year's winner,
Paddy Meaney, 3-2 in the semi-finals while
Concannon had a 3-0 victory over Jason
Hahessy (Tipperary).
Thomas Concannon kept the Roscommon flag
flying with a 3-0 victory over Martin Doheny
(Kilkenny) in the final of the Youths'
Plate. Kian Barker (Dublin) and Paul Donovan
(Cork) lost in the semi-finals.
The stage finals were televised on the day
and recorded highlights will be shown on TG4
Television in the coming weeks.
The first showings will be on Saturday,
September 6th. and 13th., at 11.30am and
will be repeated on the following
Wednesdays.
 Shane
O'Connor (right) won Round Seven of the 2008
Bruce Betting Ireland Players' Championship
with a 6-3 victory over Jason Barry in the
final at the Coolquay Lodge in Dublin.
The beaten semi-finalists were Aodhagan
O'Neill and Roy Bailie.
O'Connor finishes the qualifying
competitions as Number One on the Ireland
Rankings List and he will now be the top
seed in the Grand Finals of the Championship
in Kilkenny next August.
The Top 32 players on the Rankings List will
be invited to compete in the finals which
will have a prize fund of
€ 8,000 plus an opportunity of winning a
magnificent Peugeot 207 car for a 9-dart
finish.
 There
was also a very entertaining youths'
competition at the Coolquay Lodge with 32
players competing on the day.
The winner was David Concannon (pictured
right) who defeated Paddy Meaney 3-2 in the
final.
Damian
O'Driscoll Wins in Bettystown
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Joe Coyne congratulating Damian
O'Driscoll) |
Damian O'Driscoll
from Cork won Round Six of the 2008 Bruce
Betting Ireland Players' Championship at
the Bettystown Court Hotel in County Meath
with an emphatic 6-1 victory over
Daryl Gurney (Antrim) in the final.
Almost one
hundred and thirty players competed on the
day and some excellent performances were witnessed
throughout the afternoon.
Shane O'Connor
was close to hitting a 9-dart check-out in
his board final against O'Driscoll. He scored 477
with his first eight darts but then clipped
the wire on double twelve.
O'Driscoll was on
top of his form, however, and went on to win
the board before eliminating
Mervyn Robinson
and Simon Wykes to reach the final.
Gurney was
equally as good in the other half of the
draw with impressive victories over Connie
Finnan, Michael
Blair and Keith Rooney on his road to the
decider.
Damian O'Driscoll
was unstoppable in the final and he wrapped
up his second victory in this
year's
Championship with an 11-dart game in the
final leg.
Paddy Meaney from
Kilkenny won the youths' competition once
again when he defeated Ryan
The 'Big Lad' Wins in Newbridge
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Martin Murphy and Roy Bailie |
Martin Murphy from Kildare thrilled the home crowd at Sarsfield's
GAA Complex in Newbridge
at the weekend when he captured the first prize of € 1,000 in Round
Five of the 2008 Bruce
Betting Ireland Darts Players' Championship.
Murphy, known as the 'Big Lad', was in superb form throughout the
competition hitting countless
maximum scores of 180 and finishing his matches in clinical fashion.
In the final he came up against Roy Bailie from County Down who is
one of the veterans on the
Irish darts scene and one of the most consistent throwers over the
past two decades.
But Martin Murphy was unstoppable in the final as he fashioned a
brilliant 6-1 victory against his
more experienced opponent.
The beaten semi-finalists were Garrett Gray
(Dublin), who lost 4-6
to Murphy, and Daryl Gurney
(Antrim), who went down on the same scoreline to Bailie.
Five Rounds - Five Winners
After five rounds of the Championship we have had five different
winners and Shane O'Connor (Kildare)
still tops the Rankings List ahead of Damien O'Driscoll (Cork).
Benny Grace
(Kilkenny) is at Number Three and Martin Murphy's win
moves him into joint fourth position
with Johnny Donovan (Cork)
Round Six of the Championship will take place on Saturday, April
19th., at the Bettystown Court Hotel,
Meath, in conjunction with the Tommy Dunn Memorial Singles which
will be held on the Sunday.
The closing date for receipt of entries is Wednesday, April 16th.
The Ireland Youths' Championship has turned into a head-to-head
confrontation between Sean McArdle (Dublin) and Paddy Meaney (Kilkenny).
Before Newbridge Meaney enjoyed a slender two points lead at the top
of the Rankings List but McArdle
brought them level again when he defeated his rival 3-2 in the
final.
They are now both on 50 points way ahead of the rest of the pack.
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Maeve O'Connor,
Joe Coyne and Joan Flynn |
The beaten semi-finalists in Newbridge were Kian Barker
(Dublin] and
Philip Doheny (Kilkenny]
The final round of the Ladies' Championship once again produced some
top-class darts with former Irish
International Joan Flynn (Kilkenny) taking the honours with a 4-2
victory over Maeve O'Connor (Carlow)
in the final.
The beaten
semi-finalists were Theresa Maher (Laois) and Maureen Kelly (Carlow)
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Four of Players' Championship Goes to Cork
Damien O'Driscoll
(pictured right) from Cork won Round Four of
the 2008 Bruce Betting Ireland Players'
Championship at
the Two Mile Inn Hotel in Limerick.
Damien defeated
Benny Grace (Kilkenny) 6-2 in the final.
In the
semi-finals O'Driscoll defeated Chris
Connery (Kilkenny) 6-2 while Grace defeated
Shane O'Connor (Kildare) 6-3.
Denise Cassidy (Fermanagh)
defeated Martina Scallon (Wexford) 4-0 in
the Ladies' final and the beaten
semi-finalists were Kay O'Carroll (Cork) and
Gemma Keogh (Kilkenny).
Paddy Meaney (Kilkenny)
defeated Ryan Courtney (Cork) 3-1 in the
Youths' final.
 Patrick Keane Wins Round Three in Tramore
139 players competed in Round Three of the Men's Championship at
O'Shea's Hotel, Tramore, on Saturday, January 12th
and victory went to Longford's Patrick Keane (right)who was the most consistent
performer in the 2007 Championship.
Keane defeated Shane O'Connor 6-5 in a thrilling final after defeating
Martin Murphy 6-4 in the semi-finals.
The other beaten semi-finalist was Damien O'Driscoll who lost 4-6 to
O'Connor.
Shane O'Connor stays on top of the Rankings after three rounds and he is
followed by Johnny Donovan and Damien O'Driscoll
in second and third places, respectively.
 The ladies' final was won by Denise Cassidy
(right) who defeated Maureen Kelly
by four legs to two while the beaten semi-finalists
were Nicola O'Donovan and Sharon O'Brien.
Sharon O'Brien is still on top of the Ladies' Rankings ahead of Joan
Flynn and Denise Cassidy who are joint second.
There was another great youths' competition in Tramore with Sean McArdle
coming out on top with a 3-0 win against Paddy
Meaney in the final. Ryan Courtney and Stephen Nyhan lost in the
semi-finals.
More than € 4,000 in prize money was paid out on the day with the men's
winner receiving a cheque for € 1,200.
Round 2 to
Goes to Shane O'Connor at Abbeyleix
A record number of 201 players entered Round
Two of the 2008 Bruce Betting Ireland Players' Championship
which was played on Saturday, December 8th.,
at the Abbeyleix Manor Hotel.
There was a top-class entry of 154 men from
all corners of the country in the men's event and they produced some of the best darts in the Championship to
date.
 Shane O'Connor
(pictured right) captured the first prize of €
1,200 with a 6-2 victory over fellow-Dub Garret Gray in the final. The beaten semi-finalists were Johnny
Donovan (Cork) and Michael Blair (Co. Down).
 In the Youths' Championship Paddy Meaney
(Kilkenny) (pictured left) overcame Sean McArdle (Dublin) by three legs to one in the final while the beaten semi-finalists
here were David Concannon (Roscommon] and Craig Casey (Kildare).
 A Ladies' Championship has been added to the
programme and this has proved to be a tremendous success with 29 players competing on the day. Sharon O'Brien
(Kildare) (pictured right) emerged victorious
with a 4-1 win against Joan Flynn (Kilkenny) and the beaten semi-finalists were Theresa
(Laois) and Maeve
O'Connor (Carlow)
Prize money totalling € 4,320 was paid out
on the day.
Round One to the
Kingdom
 Sean
Marshall (pictured right) from Kerry won Round
One of the 2008 Bruce Betting Ireland Players’
Championship when he defeated the legendary Jack McKenna
from Kildare 6-2 in the final at the Springhill Court
Hotel in Kilkenny.
A record entry of 125 players entered the
competition and it produced some of the best darts seen
in the country for a long time.
In the top half of the draw Marshall
eliminated Irish International, Steve McDonnell, in the
last sixteen and the Tramore Autumn Champion, Damien
O’Driscoll, in the quarter-finals while McKenna defeated
John Elder and Patrick Keane to set-up a semi-final
clash with Benny Grace.
Sean Marshall defeated Cork County player,
Johnny Donovan, 6-1 in the first semi on stage while
Jack McKenna came from behind to defeat Benny Grace 6-5
in an epic encounter.
This latter match seemed to have taken it’s
toll on Jack, however, and he was unable to reach the
same heights in the final as Sean powered his way to a
6-2 victory.
The winner took home a cheque for €1,000
while the total prize money on the day was in excess of
€3,000.
 “Rocket” Powers His Way to
Victory in Youths’ Championship
(Photo
- Ryan Courtney on the right with Jason Hahessy)
Ryan ‘The Rocket’ Courtney from Cork
defeated newcomer Jason Hahessy (Tipperary) 3-1 in the
final of Round One of the 2008 Ireland Youths’
Championship in Kilkenny.
In the semi-finals Ryan defeated David
Colcannon (Roscommon) while Jason eliminated the 2007
runner-up, Sean McArdle from Dublin.
Click here for full
results.
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2007 Title Goes to Kildare:
see more here
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Joe Coyne, Paul Irving and Russ Bray |
Paul Irving from Kildare was crowned 2007 Ireland Players’ Champion at a packed Springhill Court Hotel in Kilkenny on Sunday, August 19th.
Thirty two players competed on the day and they were divided into eight groups of four playing-off on a round robin basis.
There were many shock results in the early stages with many fancied players, including Patrick Keane and Aodhagan O’Neill, failing to win through to the last sixteen.
The standard of play was extremely high throughout the afternoon with many close encounters.
Brian Cathcart and James Keogh both qualified from Board
(1) and they both advanced to the semi-finals where they lost out to John Elder and Paul Irving, respectively.
In the final John Elder never hit his true form and this allowed Paul Irving to grow in confidence and went on to take the first prize of € 2,000 with a 6-2 victory.
The players in the Youths’ competitions produced some great darts with Paddy Meaney winning the Championship with a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Sean McArdle and Kevin Mullally winning the Youths’ Plate defeating Shane Nolan 3-1.
The prize fund on the day was € 7,000 making a grand total of € 24,00o paid out throughout the Championship.
Unfortunately, nobody won the car for a 9-dart finish but James Keogh came closest with a shot at a 10-darter in the quarter-finals.
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